Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $52.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.43 on Friday, hitting $58.28. 5,677,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,772,175. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $43.37 and a 1-year high of $60.18. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $57.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Institutional Trading of Altria Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock worth $617,124,000 after buying an additional 983,328 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.